


Best Laid Plans

by Senor_Sparklefingers



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 12:36:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17508758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Senor_Sparklefingers/pseuds/Senor_Sparklefingers
Summary: Caleb was up to something.Molly wasn’t sure exactly what, but the signs were that Caleb was in the middle of coming up with some sort of plan for...something.(Or, Caleb and Molly take a trip.)





	Best Laid Plans

**Author's Note:**

> Much love to steelneena for betaing and helping with the idea behind this!
> 
> For cherry0reos in the wm server. Sorry it's late but I hope you like it!

It had been a long time since Caleb and Molly had taken a vacation.

 

Normally, the two of them would try to go away for the summer, to Nicodranas or somewhere else on the coast, usually with the rest of their friends. Jester’s mother had a beach house, so typically they would all get together and spend the summer by the sea.

This year, though, Caleb and Molly had both stayed behind. Caleb was busy working on his dissertation while Molly was completing his apprenticeship under Gustav at the tattoo parlor. They’d both been too busy, so instead of a summer of fun and sun, they’d had to live vicariously through Jester’s frequent phone calls and photo messages.

Caleb hadn’t minded, not really. His work was important, and he wanted to at least get a head start on completing it before the academic year started...and if he was truly being honest with himself, the beach got sort of boring after a while. It was nice, certainly, and he did enjoy floating along in the ocean until he lost track of time...but it never really changed. And he was predisposed to sunburns. No, it was better that he stayed behind and did his work.

Molly, on the other hand...Caleb knew that he’d been close to completing his apprenticeship for some time. His business wouldn’t take nearly as long as Caleb’s work would; he could have left at any time, taken a much needed break. Caleb knew Molly loved the beach and that, right up until Caleb told him he wasn’t going this year, he’d talked constantly about how excited he was and how he was looking forward to all of the things they could do together this year.

Molly had stayed behind for him. To keep him company and ensure that, even while he was working, he would have an enjoyable summer. Molly hadn’t complained. He said he hadn’t minded, but every so often, when they were both home at the same time, Caleb would catch Molly wistfully staring out the window, or looking off into the distance. Whenever he’d get caught, Molly would laugh and brush it off, but Caleb...Caleb knew that Molly missed having their time off together, truly away from work.

 

Molly had sacrificed his vacation for Caleb. Molly sacrificed so much for Caleb, put up with his dark days and his moods and eccentricity, and loved him in spite of them. Molly, who knew how to make Caleb laugh and just how he liked his coffee, who’s face he was lucky to wake up to every morning. His Molly, whom he adored so much that his heart felt like it could burst from it...Molly deserved his vacation. He deserved a nice trip.

 

So, Caleb was going to take him on a trip he’d never forget.

\--- 

Caleb was up to something.

 

Molly wasn’t sure exactly _what_ , but the signs were that Caleb was in the middle of coming up with some sort of plan for...something.

He'd  asked Molly if he’d gotten any vacation time built up. And if so, how much? and could he use a week of it? and when? When Molly told him ‘yes’, ‘about 14 days or so’, ‘yes’, and ‘um…’, Caleb told him to use those days in the first week of October. Caleb, who believed in saving time off for true emergencies so much so that he had to be bullied into using sick time when he got the flu! The only reason he ever took the summer off was because the academic year was over, and everyone else took it off. Apart from that though, he was perpetually busy, and his philosophy about preparing for emergencies was contagious. He wouldn’t just ask people to take time off for no reason, not even Molly.

 

He'd also noticed a week in early October blocked off on the kitchen calendar. The same week he’d told Molly to take off from work.

No notes or listed appointments, just a big line through the whole week and the word ‘AWAY’. Which implied that Caleb was taking that time off too...which, again, was out of character for him.

 

And then there were the phonecalls.

 

Caleb _hated_ making phone calls. He did it when he absolutely had to, usually when it came to work or making appointments or talking to the vet, but otherwise he tried to avoid them.

So the fact that Molly had caught Caleb on the phone three times was suspicious enough. The fact that Caleb refused to tell him what the calls were about, simply smiling and saying ‘you’ll see’?

 

Yes. He was definitely up to something. And everyone else seemed to be in on it.

 

Molly had talked to Yasha (over the phone, she was off storm chasing with Beau and Zuala), and all she’d said was that ‘good things come to those who wait’. He could practically _hear_ the smirk on her face. So, she knew something, but would say nothing. He’d have to ask someone who would break easily...which ruled out Caduceus, as well as Fjord, who was off at sea for one last trip before the winter hit. That left Jester and Nott. Well...considering this involved Caleb, it really just left Jester.

He’d gone and visited Jester at her bakery during his lunch break one day, about a week before the ‘AWAY’ was supposed to start, to tell her all about Caleb’s suspicious behavior. He’d hoped that Jester, being the loving friend and eternal gossip she was, would at least give him a _hint_ as to what his boyfriend had in mind...but no. She’d just _grinned_ at him, looking too much like Frumpkin for her own good. Whatever Caleb was up to, she wasn’t willing to give him even a sliver of information, no matter how many bear claws he promised to buy from her.

 

Molly eventually decided to take Yasha’s advice and just wait. There was no point in speculation about Caleb’s mystery plans, not when he’d know sooner rather than later. Not even if the anticipation and curiosity was killing him.

\--

“So, ah...Mollymauk. There is something I wish to discuss with you.”

It was two days before the ‘AWAY’ week was set to begin, and Caleb and Molly were eating dinner. Molly had spent the last few days trying to be patient, but his curiosity was back in full force as he looked up at Caleb from his plate. “Hmm?” he said, smirking a little at the way Caleb’s face went red, clashing with his hair. It was good that, even after all their time together, it took so little to get him flustered. Molly loved that about him.

 

“Ja...well. I wanted to talk about next week. I’m sure you noticed how it’s been marked in the calendar--”

“You mean how you crossed it out and wrote ‘AWAY’ in red? No, darling, I hadn’t seen that,” Molly teased, grinning as Caleb’s blush deepened. “Yes, Caleb, I saw it. Go on.”

 

“Well. I had been thinking, about this past summer--”

“Caleb, if you still feel bad about the beach, you know you don’t have to--”

 

Caleb held up a hand, and Molly went quiet. “I know I don’t have to try and do anything to make up for it. But I want to. I have been speaking with Jester--yes, I know, stop smirking like that--and she told me of these cabins you can rent near Trostenwald. I thought, since you stayed with me this summer, we could take our vacation now?”

Molly was quiet for a moment, and Caleb thought for a second that he’d done something wrong. He hadn’t really asked Molly if he wanted to take time off, he’d just sort of assumed...oh, gods, what if he’d read the whole situation wrong?

 

Before he could go into a complete panic spiral, Molly had stood up from the table, walked over to Caleb, a grin slowly growing on his face as he leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.

 

“You, Mister Caleb, are a romantic fool. You went through all this trouble for me…?”

 

Caleb mumbled something under his breath and Molly laughed, kissing his forehead, his cheeks, before finally kissing him gently on the lips, pulling back with a soft smile. “A romantic fool indeed. You could have told me what you were planning, you know.”

 

“I...wanted it to be a surprise. Though I think you had your suspicions, so I am not sure how well I pulled it off.” He was staring at a spot on the floor, face still beet red. Molly gently touched his cheek, forcing their eyes to meet.

 

“Caleb. Darling. I knew you were planning something, but not what. I...this is a wonderful surprise. A whole week with you, among the trees...no work, no classes, just the two of us…”

 

Caleb smiled a little, resting his forehead against Molly’s. He knew that this was a good idea, in spite of every fiber of his being screaming that no, this was bad, Molly would hate this. He knew Molly would like this, again, in spite of himself.

He’d checked the weather for the next week. It was supposed to be slightly cloudy, a little chilly, but otherwise nice. Perfectly seasonal, and perfect for a week in the woods in the fall.

 

“I had a list of things we could perhaps do, if you would like to go over them after dinner? It’s nothing much, just...the trees are supposed to be very nice this time of year, and perhaps we could take a picnic or something if the weather holds…”

 

“Mister Caleb, I would love nothing more than to discuss a week away with you.”

 

\--

 

The weatherman was a dirty filthy liar, and if Caleb ever got his hands on him...well. He probably wouldn’t do anything except be very cross and very, _very_ disappointed.

 

The drive up had been beautiful. It had been unseasonably warm and sunny, they’d let Frumpkin out of his carrier and he sat and slept on Molly’s lap the entire ride up, not bothered by the bumpy road or the slight breeze from the cracked window. They’d listened to Molly’s terrible travel playlist, and Caleb hadn’t been able to stop grinning as his boyfriend sang showtunes off key for an hour.

That first day they mostly spent settling in and unpacking, exploring their temporary home...christening the bedroom...he thought they’d have time the next day to go out and explore the area properly.

 

So, of course, it had to rain.

 

The first day it rained, Caleb had been more disappointed than anything else...and then Molly had beckoned him back to bed, that devilish smirk on his face, and he couldn’t really be too unhappy about the weather anymore.

 

The second day, he’d been a bit more annoyed. Molly had still been relatively cheerful about the whole thing, saying ‘better here than back at home!’, which helped slightly. They’d salvaged day two for the most part after that, driving into town during a brief lull in the downpour to pick up pizza, settling in for a day of playing board games in bed.

Molly, as it turned out, was _excellent_ at Catan (which baffled Caleb, because yes, he loved Molly, but his boyfriend could barely manage resource management in real life, how did he get so good at it in a game they’d never played before?).

 

By day three of the rain, Caleb had reached the end of his rope, the annoyance skipping right past anger and into full blown anxiety.

 

This was _not_ how he’d planned for this week to go at all. How was he supposed to make up for a lost summer with a week of being stuck indoors in a strange town, surrounded by miserable weather? This was so far from what he’d wanted the week to be like, and the dark self-loathing that lurked in the back of Caleb’s mind had come roaring to the front. He paced back and forth in the main room of the cabin, Molly watching him with growing concern from his position curled up on the couch.

 

“I do not understand how this could have happened...I planned everything, the weather was supposed to hold…”

 

Molly bit his lip in concern, fighting back a sigh. He’d told Caleb that he was perfectly happy to just enjoy their time together, that even if the rain didn’t break, the week was still perfect...but he knew Caleb was in a spiral (albeit a minor one). It would take more than simple yet honest platitudes to break him out of it.

“If I had any inkling the weather would turn...this is a disaster, I should have done more research on the area--" 

“Caleb…”

“--should have just gone to the beach like I'd planned originally, I should never have talked to Jester about this--”

“Caleb.”

“--why did I think I could _ever_ pull off this sort of thing, I am a fool who ruins everything, I should  just--”

 

“Caleb!”

 

Molly stood up, stepping over to Caleb and putting a hand on his shoulder, smiling gently. “Caleb, you can't control the weather. You did everything right here, and even if this isn't going the way you planned...well. It's still a vacation, with you, that you put all this effort into making special…”

 

His smile grew, and his other hand went to Caleb's cheek, the redhead leaning unconsciously into his touch. “I just wanted things to be perfect,” Caleb said. “You deserved a perfect vacation.”

 

“But Caleb...I'm with you. It's already perfect.”

 

Caleb’s eyes met Molly's, and he saw no signs of deception there. Only love and genuine affection, with a hint of concern. 

They stood in silence for a moment before Molly laughed, looking at the ceiling and blushing. “Besides! We got to have a _lot_ more personal time together thanks to the rain. I'd say all the extra sex is a point in the weather's favor!”

 

Caleb stared at Molly as he snorted at the terrible joke. He was right. He hadn't ruined anything, not if Molly could still smile and laugh and hold him close.

 

“Marry me.”

 

The laughter suddenly stopped. Molly stared at Caleb like he'd grown a second head.

 

“...I'm sorry, Caleb, what did you just say?”

 

Oh, _scheiße,_ had he said that out loud? He...he hadn't…

 

The plan had been to propose after a week of relaxing. Maybe under the trees during a picnic lunch, maybe at night before snuggling up in bed...but everything else has gone off the rails. Why not this?

Still, he had to do better than that.

 

“Ah...I mean...I had a whole speech planned,” Caleb stammered in the growing silence, unable to meet Molly's gaze. “I was going to tell you how much better my life has been since you became part of it, how you make me believe I can be a better man...it was going to be better than this, I promise, I know this came out suddenly--”

 

“Yes.”

 

Caleb abruptly stopped and looked up at Molly, who was grinning ear to ear, eyes shining bright. “...Mollymauk...did you just…?”

 

Molly nodded, blinking back tears. “I did. Yes, Caleb!”

 

Normally, Molly was the assertive one in their relationship. He was loud and confident and liked to take charge, and Caleb was happy to let him. But now, seeing Molly...his _fiancee_...seeing him smile like a fool with tears in his eyes, he couldn't help but feel bold. Like he could do anything, even if the weather was lousy and nothing went according to plan.

Caleb broke into a smile and let out a laugh before surging forward to capture Molly's lips, pushing him back against the couch until they both fell backwards onto the cushions.

 

As they held each other, laughing and crying in between kisses, both Molly and Caleb were thinking along the same line: this was the best, most memorable vacation ever...and if every day could end like this one did, in laughter and love, then it didn't matter if anything ever went according to plan ever again.


End file.
